OC History Professor and Student Chosen for Honors

Thursday, Jan 27, 2011

Matt McCook, professor of history, received a fellowship from the Filson Historical Society for one week of study this summer at the organization’s headquarters. McCook’s research project is titled “Aliens in the World: Sectarians, Secularists, and the Second Great Awakening.”

The Filson Historical Society is located in Louisville, Ky., and is named after that state’s first historian, John Filson. Founded in 1884, it is a privately supported historical society. Today, thousands of people visit annually to conduct research, attend programs and tour The Filson’s headquarters, the Ferguson Mansion, and the museum.

In addition, OC student Ben Peterson, a History major in the Honors Program, has been selected as a staff member for the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities’ Middle East Studies program in Cairo, Egypt. Peterson just completed his fall semester studying as a student in the program, and he will graduate from OC in the spring. He made such a strong impression with the CCCU that he was one of two students offered a program assistant position for fall of this year and spring of next year.

“I’m very excited about this opportunity, and I think it will be a great chance to keep learning about the region,” said Peterson. “The two program assistants are in charge of planning a lot of the activities, matching students up with Egyptian ‘buddies’ for the culture and language exchange component of the program and leading some of the weekend trips in Egypt.”

The CCCU is an international association of intentionally Christian colleges and universities. It has 111 members in North America and 73 affiliate institutions in 24 countries. The Middle East Studies Program allows students to explore and interact with the complex and strategic world of the modern Middle East. The interdisciplinary seminars give students the opportunity to explore the diverse religious, social, cultural and political traditions of Middle Eastern peoples. Students also study the Arabic language and work as volunteers with various organizations in Cairo. Through travel to Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Turkey, students are exposed to the diversity and dynamism of the region.